Today's News

On the first weekend in August each year, people come from all over the county, and for that matter, all over the country, to visit Springfield for the annual homecoming celebration hosted by Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

“It’s been taking place for 50 or 60 years, at least,” said Deacon Gus Cooper, pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

Jimmy Churchill, one of two chairs for the homecoming celebration, said it’s probably been even longer than that. He said his mother, who is 81 years old, recalls attending homecoming when she was a young girl.

I saw this article in our Kentucky Dairy Notes newsletter and thought it was interesting enough to share with you all.

It was about an issue related to dairy herd reproduction we do not often think about - the barn refrigerator. The following is my edited version of Dan’s article. The original article is at: https://www.msu.edu/~mdr/vol15no2/fridge.html

A Washington County grand jury has returned indictments against five people, including one charged with the sexual abuse of a child under 12 years old.

Justin Murray, 30, of Maplewood Avenue in Springfield, is charged with four counts of sexual abuse of a victim under the age of 12, a Class C felony, and one count of being a persistent felony offender.

According to the indictment, the offenses allegedly took place between February and May of 2010 in Washington County.

During Monday’s meeting of the Washington County Fiscal Court, the court voted to keep county tax rates the same for the coming year. The current rate for real estate and personal property is 7.5 cents per $100 of the assessed value. For automobiles, watercraft and aircraft, the rate will remain at eight cents per $100 of the assessed value.

For real estate and personal property, the court had the option to go with a 7.8 percent compensating rate, but elected to keep the current rate. The county could see a drop in revenue from personal property taxes.

Registration for the Blake Hoppes Youth Football League will take place this weekend at the weight room at Washington County High School.

The league is for players in kindergarten through sixth grade with divisions for K-2, 3-4 and 5-6. This year, the K-2 division will play tackle football in full pads.

Sign-ups will take place August 13 from 6 – 8 p.m., August 14 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., and August 15 from 1 – 2 p.m. Registration forms will be provided and fees must be paid at the time of registration.

There are many loyal people associated with the St. Catharine College Celebrity Golf Classic. Some on the committee have served for all 20 years of the tournament’s existence. Many of the golfers have also attended throughout the two decades.

And, for the most part, Mother Nature has kindly brought favorable weather to the event. That was never more true than Saturday when a beautiful day with temperatures in the 80s was wedged between two oppressive heat waves.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that a general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) began on Aug. 2, 2010 and will continue through Aug. 27, 2010. During the sign-up period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP’s and competitive general sign-up at their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. The 2008 Farm Bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres.

Due to the interest in the Gardener’s Wheelbarrow Series in the spring and requests from many of you, I have developed a shorter Fall Gardener’s Wheelbarrow Series that deals with topics that generally should be dealt with in the fall. Like the other Wheelbarrow Series classes these will be held at the Washington County Extension Office at 6 p.m. and supply charges must be paid at time of registration. The classes and dates are as follows: